Endless Run
by lithiumxflower
Summary: The Prime Minister's been getting alot more attention lately. So much, that it might kill her. Now it's Section 9's job to find her, save her, and bring her back home alive.
1. Poetic Vindication

**Ok, so I was reading over my reviews to Incredible Math the other day, and I saw one that triggered the need for me to write a story. They told me that they hoped I would write more GitS fics in the future, so here I go. Thank you to SxStrngSamurai13 for inspiring me without realizing it xD It's appreciated. **

**About the story now, I had a few ideas floating around for a while, but not complex enough to do anything with them. Then, a few weeks ago, a great idea hit me. Kayabuki doesn't get nearly enough screen time in the 2ng gig, especially for being the PM. So, even though she's going to be picked on (if that's the appropriate word…and it's not) a lot in this story, she'll get a lot more appreciation than she did in the series. So, have fun reading this, and it won't be too many chapters…I have enough obligations and stories on my hands as it is ;)**

* * *

Motoko Kusanagi was jarred out of her entranced state, or more commonly known as sleep. Chief Aramaki's voice tore through her eerily quiet mind, with a seemingly urgent message.

'_Major, get here now, it's an emergency'_

He didn't expect a reply; she was usually grumpy when he woke her up in the middle of the night like that. It was either that, or she noticed the underlying note of worry in his voice; which ever the case, if got her out of bed.

'_I'm on my way'_

And she was out the door.

* * *

"Approximately 27 minutes ago, a letter turned up at Prime Minister Kayabuki's home," Aramaki handed the letter over to the Major, who was leaning on his desk in front of the rest of the team.

"Another threat letter?" She queried as she took the letter from his hand.

Her eyes almost immediately widened once she started reading.

"The Prime Minister's been…"

"Yes," He answered gravely.

"Chief?" Batou asked from the couch, wanting to know what was going on.

The major handed him the letter, allowing him to read what she'd read only moments before. His reaction would've been the same as hers if he'd had normal eyes. He looked up, and handed the noted to Togusa. The note eventually made its way back to Aramaki's desk.

"Our job is to find the Prime Minister's Captor, rescue her, and bring her back home safely," He explained.

"Do we have any clues as to where she might be?" Motoko asked carefully.

"As of right now, no, we have no leads what so ever. The local police are checking for evidence as we speak. Their also checking for any else left behind from our kidnapper,"

"And what are the chances of them finding anything?" She continued.

"Well, there's a 50/50 chance here. He could've used a remote control android to get her, so that would mean that he would've had it grab the Prime Minister and then just drop her off at a set location, then leave the android somewhere random. Or, he could've come in and handled the kidnapping deal himself, which means we might be able to find him,"

The Major looked down at the floor. This was gonna be a tough one.

"Alright, Ishikawa, I want you Pazu and Borma to go through the surveillance tapes in the Prime Minister's house from last night up until 27 minutes ago. See if they picked up anything," She ordered, ready to start possibly one of the longest missions of their lives.

"Batou, you and Togusa are with me. We're going over to the PM's house to do a little investigating with the police. Saito," She directed her attention to the sharpshooter. "You stay here with the Chief in case another letter turns up,"

"Roger that," Her team responded and got up to do their jobs.

* * *

"Damn, Major there's nothing here, not even a lousy foot print," Batou stood up from his crouched position on the floor to the Prime Ministers bedroom.

"There's something weird about this. Even an android would leave footprints or something," Togusa thought aloud, reflecting the other two occupant's thoughts.

Motoko looked around the room. She was starting to get annoyed. It was late, she was groggy, and they were getting nowhere fast. Ready to give in for the night, she stood and motioned for Togusa and Batou to head for the door. That could've been the end of it, if not for her catching something out of the corner of her eye that sparked her interest.

"Hold on," She called out to the other two and crossed the room to stand next to the Prime Minister's bed.

She tilted her head back to stare at the object invading the vast white ceiling directly above her bed.

"Major?" Batou questioned while coming up to stand next to her. He didn't know what was up with her until he followed her piercing gaze,

"A vent…you don't think-"

"That's exactly what I think," She confirmed. "I think that's how our kidnapper got the Prime Minister without leaving so much as a finger print.

"Sneaky son of a bitch,"

As the Major began to contact the Chief, she was cut off by a group of Security Personnel running by the open doorway.

"What the-" She walked out the door followed by her subordinates to see a mob of Security circled around something.

She began approaching the noisy circle to have closer look.

"What's going on?"

"Ma'am, we just found her body now. It must have been the kidnapper," One of them answered.

They cleared a path for her so she could see. The Prime Minister's personal secretary lay there, dead. She was shot once in the head, a quick death. She looked closely down at the woman; she could just barely see something clenched in her left hand. She knelt down and reached in for it. Once the object was released from the woman's hand, she could see clearly that it was another note.

Batou and Togusa came up behind her to see what she'd uncovered. She carefully opened the note, careful not to smear the bloodstains on it over the words written there. It was short, but just what they needed to kick off their search for the Prime Minister.

_In Shinjuku where the Cherry Blossoms grow._

'_Chief, I think we just found out where the Prime Minister is,'_

**

* * *

Well, what did you guys think? Sorry that the beginning didn't kick off with a bang, but hey, how exciting can an investigation be? We need more GitS fics around here, so we got another one. This will probably be about 10 chapters at the most, so the action will pile on pretty fast.**


	2. Run Rabbit Situation

**Sorry about the delay. I was on a vacation from hell for the week. No really. Anyway, on with chapter two here.**

* * *

They were all dressed casually, undercover as photographers for Shinjuku's new archive. The Chief booked them reservations at a half decent place called Keio Plaza hotel. They all paired in two's as far as rooming went. Pazu and Borma, Saito and Ishikawa, Togusa and Azuma, who was reluctantly brought as back up. And last but not least, Motoko and Batou. The Major told them to rest up, and they'd start their search in the morning, since night had already fallen. Snooping around town at night would raise unwanted suspicions.

Motoko was in her shared room with Batou, going over all the different ways they could handle the situation. But other thoughts were pushing their way to the surface, breaking her concentration. No matter what she did to distract herself, the thoughts of a certain white haired refugee over powered her. So she sat on the edge of the bed, biting her thumb, lost in herself.

Batou kept a close eye on her when she got like this, worrying silently that she would snap. She'd go down gracefully, that's for sure, but she'd still go down. He sat on the other side of the bed, flipping through the channels on TV, but not really paying any attention to it. He kept his eyes focused on her, the fact that she hadn't noticed yet irked him, but he didn't say anything.

She always told him he worried about her too much, but usually, he really couldn't help it; and she knew that.

"You know you passed that channel 5 minutes ago right?" She spoke up quietly from next to him.

He looked down at the remote and realized he hadn't stopped changing the channels since he turned it on. He hit the power button and the screen went black. Now, they sat in silence, the only sound was Motoko biting her thumb nail.

"Of there's something you need to get off your chest, you know I'll listen,"

No answer.

"…Motoko,"

She looked up at him.

"It's nothing," She tried her best at a reassuring smile, but it came out looking pitiful.

He sighed, looked down. He knew, he always knew.

"You're thinking about him again, aren't you?"

She looked down sadly, the sign that let him know he was right.

"I don't think he'd want you dwelling on the past,"

She only responded in silence.

"It's not the easiest thing in the world…" He looked up at her voice. "To keep him off my mind,"

"I see," he moved to get up, but she moved faster and grabbed his arm.

"Batou, wait,"

He turned back to her. She looked away, not meeting his eyes.

"I'm sorry,"

He was slightly surprised at her apology, but then again, she'd been apologizing for a lot of things lately. Ever since Kuze, she'd been acting funny, and it worried them all.

"It's fine, but it's not that I'm worried about,"

"Oh?"

"It's you,"

He then stood up and wordlessly headed towards his back to unpack the few things he had with him. He felt her eyes on his back the entire way. For some indescribable reason, she felt cold without out him sitting there, and she stood and walked towards the window. The view was amazing, beautiful, and romantic; looking out over the National Park the way it did. It was perfect for a couple enjoying the star filled spring night. She looked over to Batou. But, she hardly felt that way, and they were hardly a couple.

He caught her gaze once he was finished closing the dresser drawer. He gave her one of his goofy grins. He closed the space between them and rested a hand on her shoulder. She looked back out the window at the trees and the buildings off to the side.

"You ok?" He asked.

"I'll live,"

* * *

"So you want us to just run around the city looking for someone that we don't even have as much as a gender for?" Togusa asked blatantly.

"There's not much else we can do, not until the Chief gets back to us with information," Motoko reminded sharply.

"If he has any," Batou added grimly.

Motoko ignored Batou's comment, even if it was true, and gave out the orders.

"Pazu, Saito, Borma, you all cover the Eastern half of the city. Togusa Batou and I will cover the Western half. We'll worry about the rest of the city tomorrow. Ishikawa, you and Azuma stay here and dive around on the net and see if you can dig anything up. If this is anything like the Individual Eleven case, you'll be able to find something. Rendezvous back in front of the hotel at 8:00 P.M. If you find anything out of the ordinary, contact me immediately,"

"Roger that,"

While everyone was scattering off into the city, Ishikawa passed Batou and spoke quickly to him.

"Take care of Queen Kong for us will 'ya?"

"You got it,"

* * *

Pazu, Saito, and Borma walked down the streets of upper Shinjuku. It kind of felt like they were wasting vital time, but there was nothing that they could do about it…not yet at least.

"Hey, isn't this supposed to be one of the more populated places in the city?" Saito spoke up.

"Yeah, we're right near Shinjuku Goyen National Garden, where the Cherry Blossoms grow. Supposedly a big hit," Borma answered.

"Well then, where is everyone?" The streets were practically deserted, save for a few people here and there.

"Good question,"

'_Hey, Major,' _Saito brought up his comm link. Motoko's avatar popped up almost immediately.

'_What is it?' _

'_Is it crowded over where you are?'_

'_Yes, very,' _She said it like it was a bad thing…and it probably was. _'What makes you ask?'_

'_It's completely dead over here,'_

'_That's strange, it's usually over populated over there around this time of the year,'_

'_That's what Borma said,'_

'_Keep me posted, and stay on your toes,'_

'_Right, you too, Major,'_

Batou looked over to the Major.

"Looks like we cam to the right place,"

"Looks like it,"

The crowds were growing quicker by the minute it seemed, and it was getting harder to walk around freely.

"Why is it so damn crowded around here, this isn't normal for Shinjuku is it?" Batou asked as someone crashed into him, bouncing off because his body was bigger.

"No," Motoko answered simply.

Togusa was having an even harder time then the two of them. Being completely human, he didn't have the strength or the weight to plow through the crowds like the other two. He'd be lucky if he didn't get lost. They all perked up when they heard yelling coming their way. An older man was running from a shop keeper, probably took something and ran. He had his head turned back and wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and didn't realize he was about to crash into a purple haired woman. He plowed right into Motoko and Batou caught her before she could hit the ground. The man, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. He tumbled to the ground, change spewing forth from his jacket pockets. He looked up and was about to run, but he froze.

"Motoko Kusanagi?"

Her eyes widened slightly. "How-" The man cut her off.

"Follow me, all of you; I think I know what you're looking for here,"

Batou cast a warning glance at the Major, but she reluctantly followed the man anyway, her interest caught.

'_Major,'_

'_I know, but it's the only lead we have,' _

He sighed, but then turned to Togusa and motioned him to follow along, and they ran after the man into and alley.

**

* * *

This will make more sense in the next chapter…I promise.**


	3. Trip City

**Sorry for being so late with my updates, shame on me for being a terrible author. Oh, and props to Byrnstar for guessing correct XD**

* * *

The man led them through various alleys until they made it to an old beat up door leading to an equally as beat up building. He knocked twice and no one answered, so he opened the door. He led them in to a table and gestured for them to sit down.

"I know you all have a million questions you want to ask me right now, but let me explain,"

They all looked at him with the utmost attention, waiting for him to tell them who he was, how he knew Motoko, and how he knew what they were looking for.

'_This man, he looks familiar,' _Motoko said over the com link.

The two answered their agreements and then fell back into silence again.

"The reason I knew who you were, Motoko, was because I used to have close relations to your boss, Diasukue Aramaki,"

Motoko's eyes widened if only a little. She was beginning to put two and two together.

"Strange things have been happening in this city, and when I saw you, I knew that you came investigating, am I correct?"

"Yes, you are," Motoko answered smoothly.

"Kidnappings and murders have been happening all over the eastern half of the city. No one goes around there anymore, in fear for their lives,"

"Yes, my team mate informed me that it was deserted up there. But, we're not here because of the dissapearences, we're hear because Prime Minister Kayabuki went a-wall two nights ago," Motoko knew that telling this man why they were here and who they were was risky, but she felt she could trust him, felt that he was someone the Chief would trust.

"The Prime Minister was kidnapped?" The man asked, naturally confused. They had put a media black out on the situation, so no one knew that she was missing yet.

"So, it's beginning to spread even to places like Niihama. I figured it would manifest in this city, until someone like you got called in to put it to an end, but I guess I was wrong,"

"Do you have any idea where we might be able to find the PM?"

The man thought for a moment. "Your best bet would be to head over to the eastern half of the city near the National Garden, that's where the strange happenings have been occurring,"

"Alright," Motoko stood up, and Batou and Togusa did the same. "Thanks for the help; we'll be heading over to the National Garden now,"

They turned to walk out the door, leaving the man behind. Motoko stopped in the doorway and looked back at him. The man smiled at her.

"Give my brother my best regards,"

She smiled slightly in return. "Will do,"

Once they were outside, she immediately contacted Saito.

'_Saito, what's your location?'_

'_Shinjuku-line, Major,'_

'_Good, stay there, we're heading over there now, and we have a lead,'_

'_Roger that,'_

* * *

"Major," Saito called out once he saw her figure and the other two trailing right behind her.

"Did any of you find anything out of the ordinary?"

"No, nothing, just that it's dead around here, that's all," He answered.

"You said you had a lead, what kind of a lead?"

"We met up with someone, and he told us that people have been kidnapped and killed around here, that's why it's so deserted,"

"That explains everything," Pazu spoke up and put out his cigarette.

"But how are we supposed to find out where they were taken after they were kidnapped?" Togusa spoke form besides the Major.

"Good question, we're just gonna have to look around. Maybe we'll find someone else that knows about what's been going on,"

"If we find anyone," Borma spoke. "The place is completely devoid of life,"

The Major growled lowly in her throat. _'Ishikawa,' _

'_I'm already on it,' _

Motoko had been letting Ishikawa use her eyes and ears for the conversation with the old man. So he knew exactly what was going on.

'_Got it, there's an old warehouse that ran out of business back in 2016 just up ahead from your location. It's been accessed on more than one occasion in the past two days. You might be able to find something there,'_

'_Right, good work, I'll get back to you if we need anything else, so keep diving around,' _

'_Right, be careful,' _

They walked casually up to the building doing their best at looking like tourists, as to not draw attention. Motoko led them to the back, so no one would see them. She pulled her gun out from under her jacket, and the rest followed her lead. She and Batou stood on either side of the door, and she counted down from three on her fingers. When she hit one, he kicked the door open forcefully, and they all filed in quickly, guns poised at an arms length. They weren't met with their perp though, but something far worse. Bodies, tied up and tortured, stripped down to their undergarments. They all lowered their guns, hearts sinking into the pits of their artificial stomachs, Togusa cringing at the smell rising off of the dead bodies. They look around, and found no sign of the PM, but that could be a good thing, or a bad thing.

"How did the local cops miss this?" Togusa asked through the hand over his mouth and nose.

"Maybe he cleans up after himself after he's finished, that way the cops never know," Batou offered, not really sure himself.

"Well then, I guess he'll be around sooner or later," Pazu threw out.

"Let's go," The Major said. "We're obviously not prepared for what he has in store for us. We'll come back tonight…with bigger guns,"

They all smirked at that, and turned to file back out into the warm, fresh air outside. Oh, they would be back, and the bastard that decided killing innocent people was a good idea, would be proved wrong…very wrong.

**

* * *

Alrighty, so the actions picking up a touch; it'll be better in chapter four, you have my word. Chapter four will also be up a helluva lot faster than the last two, so no worries. By this weekend I'll have it posted.**


End file.
